


Late Shift

by Mommysboy



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets, Slender Man Mythos
Genre: Abuse, Bad Parents, Boys In Love, Brian Thomas - Freeform, Creepypasta, Cryptids, Gay, Hunters, LGBT, M/M, Marble Hornets - Freeform, Mothman, Multi, Toby Rogers - Freeform, Urban Legends, cryptid, jackalope, jay merrick - Freeform, retail work, tim wright - Freeform, video store
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mommysboy/pseuds/Mommysboy
Summary: Tim, Brian and Jay have been living in the same town for a while, a small place that was harshly influenced by legends and myths about several things. Always trying to get a good shot of said monsters, they stardet a small hunting business together. Toby Rogers, a 19 year old student had just moved to said city a little while ago, and applied for a small job at the video store. He is about to discover a ton of secrets.
Relationships: Tobias Erin "Toby" Rogers | Ticci Toby/Timothy "Tim" Wright | Masky
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Always Tired

**Author's Note:**

> Hey my fellow loosers, I have been inspired lately to start a new work. It`s about the boys hunting Cryptids, haha. Since I am a rookie Cryptozoologist myself I thought I should put some time to that. I love you all. Have a good day or night, where ever you are.

Another late shift just stardet for Tim Wright, a young man, barely 30 years old, who had been working at the small gasoline of his town for a while now. The routine stardet as always, put on your work shirt, stand behind the counter, and restock the shelves as soon as somebody buys something. The gasoline was the only shop like thing there was in the small town he lived in, and sometimes he hated that. There were days with no customers at all, and on others Tim didnt really know where to even start with his work. Today was one of the quiet days luckily, and the store clerk stood lazily behind his counter, gazing out the window. The sun had vanished a while ago, and Tim itched to leave this place and have a smoke.   
The bell above the door rung, and a scrawny, brown haired boy entered the store. Tim watched him as he made his way through the shelves, clearly not knowing where to find what he was looking for. The older male had never seen this boy before, which was weird, considering this was a small town in which everybody knew eachother.   
"Can I help?", Tim asked in a monotone voice, obviously startling the young man.   
"I-I was just l-looking for crisps.", he replied with a stutter, and turned to face Tim. The older male pointed at a small shelve to his left, that the boy hadnt seen yet.   
"Thanks.", the brunette replied and grabbed himself two bags of said crisps and layed them on the counter to pay. Tim had noticed the kid twitching lightly as he stood there, rummaging for his wallet in his pocket. "You alright there twitches?", the older one asked, and grinned at the boy. "E-Excuse me?", the younger one replied and looked at Tim in surprise. The store clerk laughed quietly and scanned the crisps before replying, "I asked if you were alright, twitches."   
The smaller male furrowed his brows at the nickname Tim had given him and handed over the money. "I-I`m fine, no n-need to ask." The older one nodded and put the money in the register. "Sure." He said, before the other left the store after giving him one last gaze. "Now who the hell was that?", Tim asked himself with a amused impression, and made his way to restock the shelve. There were a lot of sketchy characters in his city, but he had never seen a guy like that before.   
Another hour passed, and Tims phone rang in his pocket. Before he took the call he checked who it was. "Hey Brian.", Tim said as he picked up and held the phone between his ear and shoulder, while making himself a coffee. "Hey Timbers, what`s up?", Brian asked excitedly. "Work. What do you expect sunshine?", the older one replies and puts a lid on his coffee cup. "Just asked myself if you`d be up for reviewing some of Jays new marterial later?", Tim almost spat out his sip of coffee, and coughed loudly. "He has new marterial? Did he go out for a hunt without us??", the black haired man asked in surprise, as Brian calmed him down. "He was just out for a walk in the swamps yesterday, and captured something pretty interesting that we need to see." Tim nodded at Brians answer, and rubbed his temples. "Yeah, sure. I`ll be over after work. Video store?" Brian gave a yes on Tims question and they agreed on meeting there with Jay later. Brian would organize everything, so they wouldnt be disturbed by anyone while reviewing Jays video marterial of the so called interesting news. After ending the call Tim put his phone down and placed his hands on the counter in front of him. The steaming hot coffee mug looked inviting as ever, and he took another sip. This was going to be a long night.


	2. Shallow Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was something lurking in the swamps, capturing the boys attention. Starting a new job is hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back my favourite loosers, I hope you all are having a good day or night and enjoy the new chapter. If you dont have a good day and feel like talking about it or need support hit me up on tumblr "fellowlooser" and we can talk about it. You are doing great, and I believe in all of you.

After finally closing the video store for the day, Brian sighed quietly to himself and looked around the empty store. Today had been a busy day, lots of people starving for entertainment had crowded the place up. In days of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video it was a surprise that so many people still enjoyed DVDs and VHS tapes. The video store held a steady flow of regulars, mostly older people, but the younger audience grew from day to day. Brian really enjoyed his job on those busy days, when there was something to do at all times, but on the quieter ones he had to admit feeling a little lonely in the store. This was about to change soon though, because today an application made its way to the store. A young man, roughly around the age 18 had brought a foulder with his papers, applying for a internship. Brian of course had been thrilled, and agreed on handing it straight to his boss. A knock on the backdoor of the store distracted the blonde man from his thoughts, and he made his way over to open it. On the other side of the door stood Brians friend Jay Merrick, clasping his camera close to his chest with an excited grin plastered on his pale lips. "Hey Brian! You wont believe what I have to show you guys!", the smaller one said happily and entered the store as Brian stepped aside. "I`m thrilled.", Brian answered and patted Jays shoulder gently. "Is Tim here yet?", the brown haired man asked and Brian shook his head in response. "Not yet, he should arrive any minute though." The two men gathered together in the backroom of the store, their usual set up with a laptop and a old worn out TV screen waiting for them. "So, before Tim shows up and throws a tantrum because you went alone.. what were you doing out in the swamps?", Brian asked, while dragging two more chairs in front of the screen from the other room. "I didnt plan on discovering anything man, I just went there to take some shots for my website. There is this weird new trend rising up, horror weddings, and I thought some good shots with fog and stuff could help me promote.", Jay explained and sat down, looking at Brian with a glint of guilt in his eyes. Jay has been working as a wedding photographer for a while now, always trying to hop on the newest trends to draw more customers in. Sadly this business barely kept him over water, so he had applied for a part time job at the newspaper to make some more money. This is how the boys came up with the glorious idea of taking pictures of cryptids to fill their wallets. Since their small town was heavily influenced by stories of monsters and other creatures it had been easy to sneak their articles in at the local newspaper. "Man, you could have died out there.", Brian said and sat down next to Jay, and flashing him a grin. "Brave boy." Jay smiled at this and handed Brian the camera. "Thanks, but I didnt do anything.", the shorter one replied at the compliment. "You know that Tim is gonna freak out right? He cant stand it when you do solo runs." Jay nodded at this and sighed. Him and Tim had always had sort of a complicated relationship. Tim didnt care about a lot of people but Jay seemed to be one of the very important ones, since the older one always got worried about his safety and well being. "You left the back door open, Brian.", a familiar voice interrupted their talk, and joined in on the third seat in the row. "Hey Tim, glad you could make it!", Brian exclaimed happily and bumped Tim with his elbow. "Yeah, sure. I need to know in what danger Jay got himself this time.", Tim answered and flashed Jay a worried but amused look. "I didnt do it on purpose, Tim. That thing ran into me!", Jay defended himself and frowned at the older one. "Can we just watch the footage??", Brian interrupted them and shoved the camera tape in the player. "Alright.", the other two agreed and eyed the screen in excitement. The footage showed Jay wandering around in the heavily wooded area of the swamps out of town, eventually stumbeling over rocks and branches. There was a low rumble audible from the distance, and a hunched over shape wandering in the distance. "What the hell-", Tim stardet, as Jay crept closer to the creature in the video. It sure wasnt a pretty sight, large spikes covering its back, green muddy scales covering its large, hunched over body. It`s lower jaw hung loosely from its face, bearing yellow crooked teeth, huge enough to crush a human skull with ease. Brians stomach turned, and he took a worried gaze at Jay. That thing could have easily killed him if he had gotten noticed or any closer. As it crawled around the soaked floor and eventually vanished in the mud some metres away, the footage cut out and Jay looked at the boys with excitement. Tim still stared at the screen, not sure what to think of what he just witnessed. "We need to take clear pictures of this thing, for the paper.", Jay said and Brian agreed. "I mean, sure. But we need to be prepared for this one. That looks like one hell of a dangerous job." Tim kept silent, and rubbed his temples in distress. They have done jobs with dangerous creatures before, but this one looked like a different league. Brian and Jay stardet making chit chat about how they should prepare, and eventually got up to make their way home. Tim followed, still silent and debating wether or not it was a good idea to go after this thing. As the three boys made their way out the backdoor of the store and Brian locked it, the blonde boy was the first one to leave for the night. He waved Tim and Jay goodbye, and they were left by themselves. "So...", Jay stardet carefully and looked up at Tim. "What do you think?" The older one sighed and nodded. "I think that we are insane for trying this but we need the money, so...", he looked at Jay in concern, then to Jays surprise pulled him in for a tight hug. "Just dont go out there alone again. I couldnt stand loosing you." Jay felt happy he could rely on Tim and returned the hug. "Wont.", he replied, and layed his head on Tims shoulder. The older one nodded and let go after a short while. "We`ll talk about the details on the phone the next days, alright?", Tim stated and Jay agreed before waving him goodbye. "See you around Tim.", the younger one said and stardet making his way home. He felt better than before, knowing that Tim cared about him. If only there wouldnt always be this weird fuzzy feeling in his chest, when he does. Jay shrugged it off as excitement and ventured off towards his small flat.   
Tim was left, standing alone now and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket, lighting one. Time to go home, and hopefully catch some sleep after seeing this.


	3. Unstable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobys first day at the video store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my fellow loosers, I hope you all are doing good and enjoy your day or night so far. Make sure to wind down a bit, since working and school can be exhausting in times of the virus. Take care of yourselves, and enjoy the chapter.

After checking one last time if he had everything he needed for the day, Toby Rogers zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He got up extra early today, making sure his messy hair would be in shape for his very first day at the video store. Some days ago the young boy had applied for a apprenticeship at the small place downtown, and today the day had finally come. Toby gazed at himself in the mirror, hair neatly combed and styled with his favourite hairgel, his grey hoodie fitted perfectly in with the black jacket that covered it, and his old worn out Vans didnt look as dirty as usual. Seems about perfect, he told himself and grabbed his longboard from the corner of his room to make his way to work. To say he was excited was an understatement. His heart beated heavily all morning, anxiety raging about meeting all the new people there and being occupied for now almost all of his day time. But that was what growing up was like, right? The brunette nodded at himself, and left the house after grabbing his keys from the keyholder near the door. The weather was great today, no rain that could have made him slip with his board, no wind or clouds, it was just fine. Toby enjoyed the short ride to work, and took in the view of his neighbourhood while driving by. He still didnt really got used to everything here yet, after moving in some weeks ago. It`s never easy to start over. The boy stopped his board as he rolled close to his new work place, and picked it up. "You`ve got this.", he told himself quietly, before entering the building with one last shaky breath.   
The young man was greeted by the blonde clerk who he had given his application to. The older male smiled at him widely and waved Toby over to the counter. "Man, I`m so glad this worked out. Welcome to the team.", Brian said happily and lead Toby to around to show him where he could drop off his belongings while working. The brunette stored his bag and longboard in the breakroom further back in the store, and then followed Brian to the main area to get everything explained.   
Brian seemed like a great dude, maybe working with him wouldnt be so bad after all, the younger one thought and listened to Brians explanation about taking back DVDs and VHS tapes. "So you always wanna look out if these are damaged or someone maybe put a different movie in there, alright?", the blonde man said and Toby nodded. "Got it.", he answered nervously and looked around the store. It wasnt to crowded today, about three people roaming the shelves while looking for movies. Brian noticed the smaller one being a little nervous and patted his shoulder gently. "Hey, if you have any questions or need help just ask me, alright?" Toby nodded in response and smiled at Brian. "Okay, so w-what do I have to d-do now?", the younger one asked and followed Brian to the counter. "Well, there isnt much going on right now, so if you want you can just watch and learn for a bit when I take stuff back or type it in.", Toby was glad as Brian offered him to look at everything first before actually having to do it by himself. The brunette nodded and didnt leave the older ones side for the day. The nervousity slowly faded away as Toby learned how to do all the tasks, and even taking movies back all by himself already. "Good job man, I think you`re getting the hang of this pretty fast.", Brian praised him and Toby lit up. He could really get used to this.   
As the day went by the store got emptier, and Brian sent Toby outside to wipe the windows. This wasnt so bad after all, getting some fresh air and being by himself for a little while before finishing off his shift. As the young boy cleaned the store windows, a somehow familiar guy walked past him and entered the store. Toby wondered where he had seen him before, and then it hit him right in the face. The cashier, from the gasoline.   
He could see Brian make chit chat with that guy over the counter, and they seemed to get along just fine. Toby continued on with his task, and didnt worry about the cashier guy any further.   
Meanwhile Tim and Brian got caught up in some conversation. "So, were gonna go for the job saturday night.", Tim stated and Brian nodded in agreement. "Sure thing. I`ll bring my baseball bat, just in case things go downhill.", the man in the yellow hoodie responded. The older male agreed on this and looked over at Toby, who was still wiping the windows. "And who is that?", he asked and furrowed a brow at Brian. "Our new apprentice, Toby Rogers.", just as Brian told Tim about him, Toby reentered the store with his little bucket and rag in hand. "Hey Twitches.", Tim greeted him and Toby rolled his eyes. "D-Dont call me that.", he muttered, and carried his work utensils back to the backroom. "Twitches?", Brian asked, but Tim just shrugged it off. "Not important. Anyways, I`ll see you around for pizza tomorrow, right?", the older one asked and Brian agreed happily. The two men waved eachother goodbye, and Tim made his way home to his small apartement. "So, you`ve already met Tim?", the blonde man asked as Toby walked back to him. "Sort of. He`s kind of an a-asshole to me every time I g-go shopping. Calling me w-weird names and all." Brian chuckled and could only imagine Tims creative nicknames for the teenager. "Tim is special, you just gotta warm up to him.", the older one stated, and grabbed the store keys to lock up for the day. Toby followed him and shrugged. "I d-dont need to i-impress him." The older one locked everything up and flashed his apprentice one last grin for the day. "That`s okay Toby. Anyways, good work today! I´ll see you around tomorrow then." They parted ways and Toby walked back home in silence, carrying his longboard. "Who d-does that guy think h-he is...", he muttered quietly and kicked a stone out of his way. He would avoid Tim as much as possible in the future. That`s for sure.


	4. Bermuda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay feels guilty. And the boys make a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey my fellow loosers, I hope you all are having a good day or night so far. Please enjoy the next chapter and keep your head up.

The next day at work went pretty smooth for Toby, and Brian even left him alone at the store while heading out for his break to visit Tim at the gasoline. The blonde man made his way through the small town, and almost bumped into a friend of his on the way to Tims workplace. "Hey, watch your step-", he stardet and just then realized it had been Jay who had stumbled into him. "Sorry Brian..", Jay stardet, his face was pale and he seemed to be pretty beside himself. "No need. But what happened? You look like you`ve seen a ghost.", the older one said and gave Jay a worried look. "Sort of, yeah.", the brown haired boy stardet and collected himself a little. "That thing we wanted to go after.. I`ve heard someone in town speak about it. It seems it has moved closer to the city, some teenagers have been out in the woods last night and one of them didnt make it back." Jays voice was shaky and he rubbed his arms nervously. Brian decided this was not the place to talk about it and placed one hand on Jays shoulder. "Okay, listen. I`m on my way to meet Tim at work, you can tag along and we`ll talk about everything with him. Sounds good?", the older one spoke, trying to hide the dread that laced his voice. The smaller one nodded and looked around nervously. "What if its after me?", he asked quietly while the two men made their way to the gasoline. Brian shook his head and placed an arm around Jays shoulders protectively. "I dont think so. And even if, you know Tim and I wouldnt let that happen.", the blonde one said to reassure his friend, who sighed quietly and nodded in agreement. The town was empty today, almost as if something was off.   
By the time the two reached Tims workplace, they already spotted him a bit further away from the empty place, leaning on a fence and having a smoke. "Hey guys. It`s pretty dead here today.", Tim greeted them and noticed Jays discomfort. "Whats wrong?", the dark haired man asked and Brian mentioned him that it would be better to talk about it inside. Tim agreed and the boys got back to the small store at the gasoline, sitting down in the backroom together. After Jay had told Tim about the news, the older one looked terrified. "We definitely need to do something about this. Before this thing gets in town.", Brian stated and gave Tim a serious look. "I dont get why this is our responsibility.", Tim said and sighed, rubbing his temples. He could go for another smoke already. "Because we know this thing exists, Jay has seen it. And if it gets to us it`s probably gonna murder us all.", Brian said sarcastically and Tim scoffed. "All we wanted to do was take pictures of those things, I didnt sign up for killing them!", the older one said angrily and got up from his chair. "So you`d rather have everyone eaten around here? I actually like this place!", Brian argued and got up as well, walking up to Tim so they were chest to chest. The two worked eachother up and stardet a serious argument. Jay just sat and watched in horror, his friends shouting at eachother about something he probably had stardet with spotting this thing in the very start. Anxiety rose in his stomach and he bit his lip. Tim shoved Brians chest roughly and the two grabbed eachother by the front of their hoodies. "This is all my fault...", the youngest in the room muttered and bit back some tears. Tim and Brian went quiet, looking over at Jay. Both their shoulders dropped and they realized how stupid they acted. Brian sighed and took some steps back, raising his hands in a apologetic way. "Sorry.", he said and Tim nodded at him in response, before walking over to Jay and pulling the shaky boy up in his arms. "Nothing of this is your fault.", the dark haired man said quietly and listened to all of Jays concerns. "If I wouldnt have gone out there to take those pictures, it probably wouldnt have followed me here-", he chocked under tears and hit Tims attention. "The footage didnt show it following you, did it? Unless... there is more that you didnt show us.", Tim grabbed Jay by the arms and looked him deep in the eyes. The younger one swallowed hard and looked at the floor. "There is no other footage.", Jay said quietly and bit his lip. "But as I left it followed my car for a while. I first didnt notice it, after it vanished in the water. But after I stardet driving home there was this big shape in the distance following me.", he added very silently and looked up at Tim. "Blaming yourself wont help us now.", Brian said and stepped up to the two, placing a supportive hand on Jays shoulder. "Brian is right. We`ll figure it out.", Tim added and gave Jay a reassuring smile. The brown haired man nodded shakily and buried himself in Tims arms again. Soaking up any comfort he could get, leaving the other two in silence. Brian looked at Tim, uncertainty streaking his gaze. The oldest didnt know what to say now, and just focused on Jay for the moment. He didnt wanna imagine how the younger one must feel, blaming himself for leading the creature to their city and probably the death of a teenager. Jay didnt deserve to feel this way, and yet Tim couldnt do anything about it but holding him and making sure he`d be safe. "Guess we`ll have to meet up for pizza on another day.", Brian then said jokingly and Tim huffed. "Yeah, we`ll get pizza when this thing is dead. A big one."


	5. You dont understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay thinks of old times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy my fellow loosers, I know I know calm down, two chapters in a day what a premiere. My friggin computer mouse just fell down and broke that damn thing. Gotta buy a new one tomorrow. Anyways, enjoy the chapter sweethearts.

The boys decided to make an early move and go for the hunt tonight. Brian would leave Toby alone in the video store for the day, needing to prepare himself and gather his supplies for the task ahead of them. The blonde man walked into the store, almost half an hour later than he was supposed to be back and was greeted by a worried Toby. "Where have you been s-so long Brye?", the younger one asked and furrowed his brows in question. "Not important buddy, but I have bad news. I gotta go home for the day, there is some... business I have to attend and get done as fast as I can. You`re gonna be fine without me for the rest of the shift, right?" Tobys shoulders dropped as he heard the news, but nodded in agreement. "O-Okay Brian. I hope y-you get everything done.", the younger one replied and leaned against the counter, watching Brian gather his stuff and wave him goodbye before leaving for the day. What could that important business be, Brian was attending? Toby asked himself, before getting distracted by some customers.  
The next two hours passed fastly, as Tim closed down the gasoline for the day, making his way home quickly and grabbing everything that could be useful for the later hunt. Jay in the meantime had walked home to his small flat, gathering his camera and rummaging through his kitchen on the lookout for a suitable monster killer weapon. He held up the biggest kitchen knife he could find and shook his head. "This is not gonna work. Probably just gonna slip off the scales.", he muttered to himself and put the knife back. Then Jay remembered he still had a metal rod laying in his garage, the one he and his last partner had used to defend themselves while hunting before he met Tim and Brian. As the brunette made his way to the garage he sighed quietly, before picking up the rod and looking at it. There was dust all over the device, since it hadnt been used in a long time. Back in the day before he used to work as a wedding photographer, Jay used to hunt for cryptids with his partner Alex Kralie. Hunting as in, going for the kill. The two of them used to be thick as thieves, scoring one throphy after the other. Alex had been everything to Jay, and the other way round. But on some especially foggy night, the two of them had overestimated themselves. Alex was all about finding a Wendigo someday, bringing its head as throphy and proving to the world they werent just made up. So the two of them had ventured all night, through the darkest of woods, looking out for any sign of those terrifying creatures. As Alex noticed screams in the distance, Jay had grabbed his arm and pulled him back, knowing this would be a trap of the creature ahead of them. He didnt have a good feeling about their hunt that day, and it was about to be proven right. Alex didnt care about Jays warning though, to thrilled by the thought of getting all the glory for his discovery. The younger one had followed Alex, down the forest, down the dirty paths, and eventually through a flat river. By the time Jay was out of breath, they reached a cave, and Alex looked at his partner. Jay looked unsure and shook his head, but the older one said : "We`ll be alright. And when this is over we`ll finally get the recognition we deserve." People have been smiling at them, nodding with sarcasm when the boys talked about their business, some even making fun of them, saying they should stop playing make believe and get help. Here it was, a chance they shouldnt waste, yet Jay had a really bad feeling about it. Alex ventured on, metal rod clutched in his hands. Jay followed him closely, holding on to his camera and flashlight. "Do you hear that?", Alex whispered and advised Jay to point the flashlight ahead of them. Breathing, almost growling escaped the creature they just had stumbled upon. Its lanky body looked worn out, the head barely covered by flesh anymore, showing a rotting skull underneath. Its snout was long, almost dog like, with sharp teeth glistening in the shimmer of Jays flashlight. The creature was almost two heads bigger than Alex and didnt seem to pleased about their appereance. Jay grabbed Alex by his hoodie and tugged him backwards. "Lets get out of here!", he yelled, as the thing bolted towards them, but Alex had different plans. Going in for the fight, he swung the metal rod across its head, drawing an otherworldly scream from the cryptid. "Alex, come on! Dont play the hero now, this is to big of a deal!", hunting nightcrawlers and jackalopes was one thing. This thing was a different league. Before Jay could make any other move to draw his partner out of there the massive monster jumped on Alex, pinning him to the ground, the metal rod hitting the ground a few metres away from them leaving Alex defenseless. The man screamed at the top of his lungs, trying his best to wrestle the thing off of him. Jay was helpless, he snapped out of his trance and ran to grab the rod, dropping his camera. He made a go for it and hit the creature in the ribs roughly. It didnt seem to mind this to much, and threw a lazy punch at Jay, knocking him off of his feet. "Alex!", Jay screamed as the monster dug its teeth into his partners hoodie, dragging him backwards, deeper into the cave. Footsteps from a far, Jay turned around to see two guys entering the cave almost the rescue. A man in a yellow hoodie, and another one wearing a red flannel stormed the cave, apparently bated there by Jays and Alex` screams. The dude in the hoodie carried a baseball bat with him, going after the creature and trying to pull Alex out of there. The older one of the two pulled Jay to his feet and told him to get out of here. Jay wasnt having any of it, kicking and screaming, wanting to go after Alex but there was no chance. This thing had taken him away, and this was the last of Alex Jay had ever heard.  
Some silent tears dripped down on the old metal rod in Jays hands as he remembers this night. The night he met Tim and Brian, and the night he had lost Alex forever.


	6. Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys hunt a monster. Tim goes for a swim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy my fellow loosers, sorry for the lack of content but the last days have been a hustle. Here`s the next chapter finally. I hope you`ll enjoy and have a nice day or night. Take care. This will be a graphic chapture, you have been warned folks.

The moon was illuminating the dark night sky brightly, as Tim, Jay and Brian made their way down to the swamps next to the city. The road was empty, the trunk loaded with baseball bat, metal rod and knives. Jays hands grasped the steering wheel tightly, his mind racing with anxiety. Tim sat in the backseat, gazing outside at the passing trees and puddles of water around them. Brian was caught up in worries, as he had left Toby alone at the store for the night shift once again, but the kid would be fine right? As the road grew more muddy Tim spoke up. "We should get out here." The other two agreed, and Jay stopped the car. The oldest got out first, making his way to the trunk and grabbing himself a knife and a flashlight. Brian looked at Jay, still in the passenger seat. "You ready?", the blonde man asked and Jay nodded lightly. The boys joined Tim outside and Jay locked the car after everyone got their weapon of choice out of the backside. "Let`s get this over with.", Tim stated and his friends agreed, following him down a especially muddy path down to the swamps. The trees around them cutted the light of the moon out greatly, making it hard to see where to place your feet without sinking in. Jay kept turning around, checking if someone or something had been following them. He grasped the metal rod he was carrying in his hands and stopped in his tracks as a noise distracted him. "Wait- Did you guys hear that?", he pulled Brians hoodie lightly, causing the taller one to listen in on their surroundings more. A quiet but steady hissing sound crept closer to them, and Tim took a step back, advising the other two to stand back to back. Heavy footsteps, sinking into the muddy floor around them were audible, and Jays breathing hitched. It must be close, and it must know they were in its territory. The large creature crept closer to them, bulky shoulders and head pushing through the woods that seperated them. Its scales shone in the shimmer of Tims flashlight, teeth glistening with what seemed to be dried blood sticking to them. Threads of spit dripped down its loose jaw, eventually falling on its massive paws. This was their chance, and Brian brave as he was, made the first move on the creature. Bashing into the bulky shape that made its way towards them, he jumped forward and hitted the creature across the head hardly with his baseball bat. It didnt even flinch and pushed the adult back with ease, having him land flat on his ass in the dirt. "Watch out!", Brian yelled as it moved towards his company. The were underprepared was the least statement Tim could have made, as he jumped aside and pulled Jay with him to dodge a attack of the cryptid. "We dont stand a chance man!", the youngest said shakily, and Tim gritted his teeth. "We dont know that yet.", he muttered and went forward, trying to land a hit on the creatures stomach with his knife. The metal device slid right through the soft skin on its front torso and revealed dark blood dripping out in the dirt. "Yes!! Good hit!", Brian shouted as he got back on his feet and attemted another try on hitting their enemy. Tim moved aside quickly and let Brian smash the creatures open intestines with the bat. It stumbled, hissing and squealing in agony as the boys kept taking turns with hitting it. Jay stood back and watched, not able to move his feet just yet. It was a horrifying thing to look at, yet he had seen it so many times back in the day with Alex. When did he turn so soft? Jay got ripped from his trance as Brian flew right across him after taking a hard hit and dropping into the mud some metres away. "Brian!!", the yongest yelled and wanted to make his way over to help him, only to get caught by a horrible sight to his left. The creature seemed to have gathered the last of its strength and grasped Tims shirt in its teeth, dragging him towards the water behind them slowly. The man couldnt do anything about it, he had dropped his knife on accident some seconds ago and didnt stand a chance on tearing away fom the cryptids grasp. Jays jaw dropped, his hands shook, he couldnt stand loosing another friend over the same curse as Alex. His head went blank. His feet moved quickly, towards Tim and the creature, covered in mud and water already. Tim screamed at the top of his lungs, telling the two to get away as fast as they can and leave him behind, but Jay had different plans. He bashed towards them, rod clutched in his hands, smashing the creatures head violently. Over and over again, untill it let go of Tim, and he crawled out of the dirty water exhaustedly while Jay took care of the monster. All he could see was the creature that had taken his partner years ago, he took one swing at the creature after the other. Its jaws ripped off, landing in the water and eventually disappearing, Jay going on untill the head of the monster was a mess of bones and flesh, hanging loosely off the top of its bulky body. The creatures frame dropped in the dark water, Jay standing over it breathing heavily, covered in dirt and blood. Tim had witnessed his friend snapping from some metres away and still tried to catch his breath while getting up slowly. "Jay-", he muttered and stumbled over to him, holding his side as the creature had landed a hit with its claws on him earlier. The youngest stood still, still towering over the monster he just had slayed. "Look at me.", Tim said quietly as he reached out for Jays hand that still grasped the rod and pulled him out of the water. His expression was empty, almost laced with dread as he smiled at Tim lightly. "I couldnt let him take you too.", the younger one said quietly and Tim nodded in understanding. Jay dropped the rod out of his hand and took one last look at the body laying still in the water. His expression changed slowly, as he took a step closer to Tim. "I did this-", he stammered and looked down on his dirty hands. The older one nodded and put an arm around Jays shoulders protectively. "If you wouldnt have done that I would probably be out for a swim now.", Tim said quietly and Jay looked at him in disbelief. "Thank you Jay.", the black haired man spoke softly and tugged the shaking frame in front of him close to his chest. They stood like this for some minutes, Jay realizing what he had done and Tim listening to all his concerns. Brian, who had gained his conciousness back after laying in the dirt for a while broke the silence. "Hey, what did I miss? How did you guys-", he stumbled over to the body in the puddle of water and looked at his friends in horror. "Jay gets the honors. Saved my ass.", Tim stated and Brians jaw dropped. "You did this, alone? Man, I always knew you had it in you, but this...", he kicked the creatures destroyed head roughly with his boot and grinned at Jay. "Good job." The youngest didnt feel like grinning at all, and kept his face buried in Tims broad shoulder. Brian kicked the lifeless body untill it vanished in the water that surrounded it, to never be seen again, before the boys slowly made their way towards their car. Jay stayed close to Tim all the way, holding on to his shirt tightly. The way home was quiet, Brian on the drivers seat, Tim and Jay sitting in the back still cradled up against eachother. Jay felt empty, not really getting a grasp of reality, but holding on to Tim for dear life and a sense of safety.


End file.
